Markets mixed as G-7 leaders meet

Markets were mixed on Friday.

The S&P 500 rose 0.3 percent but the STOXX Europe 600 fell 0.2 percent and the Nikkei 225 fell 0.6 percent.

With the Group of Seven leaders headed for a meeting in Canada over the weekend, Jasper Lawler, head of research at London Capital Group, said that “no one wants to play ball with Trump”, with many “promising tit-for-tat retaliation”. He warned that “the collective group of leaders could use this as an opportunity to make their point clearer, turning the event into a reason to take risk off the table”.

In contrast, Leo Grohowski, chief investment officer at BNY Mellon Wealth Management, was encouraged by the advance in stocks in the US on Friday and said that “we’re in a war of words, but not a trade war”.